Who shoots in burst mode all the time?

Everytime I do that I end up with 10Go of useless shots.

Down_Shift wrote in post #10702485
I know it's useful for the sports but any reason to be shooting burst all the time? I would assume you would be using ai servo all the time also?

I don't think I use anything on the camera "all the time", including burst mode and AI servo. Like any other adjustable feature, they are tools and you select the correct tool for the job in hand.

I do tend to leave the camera on continuous quite a bit, but drop into single mode at times when it is preferred.

AI servo / one shot focus though is something that I am switching between a lot. I wouldn't use AI servo simply because I am in burst mode though, as you assume, the two are not related and I use which is appropriate, regardless of how the other is set.

Sure, if I am shooting fast moving action, I would have burst mode paired with AI servo. However, let's say I am shooting a re-enactment battle and want to capture a volley of musketry fire. Burst mode is needed, as I cannot prejudge the moment when the most muskets will have a gout of flame coming out of the barrel. However, I don't want the lens hunting between distances if a head moves back and the focus point is then on a head further away, then comes back to the first head when he moves it forward a few inches again. I want to place my focus at a distance into the musketeers and leave it there. One shot is also more accurate than AI servo and you can't focus on one particular person and recompose a little with servo. So several reasons why one shot may be the preferred choice (yes, I know the back button can eliminate a couple but doesn't improve the accuracy).

With focusing, I choose one shot for stationary subjects and servo for moving ones, whether I am in burst mode or not. I never use AI focus though, as it is one of the auto tools where you hand over the decision making to the camera. As such it often gets it wrong (I'm not saying I never shoot in the wrong mode, but I get it right more than the camera does on it's own).

I do, on 5DII

depends what im shooting. For the most part i take single shots (whether set to burst or not). If im shooting birds in flight or my dog running then yes il prob use burst. However the more i use my camera the less i rely on holding the shutter down in burst. I find myself manually triggering each shot more and more.

Same with focus modes. I use single shot for the most part. If shooting moving action then il switch to AI-servo. Not a fan of AI-Focus my self.

Almost never.

Then just don't shoot when people are blinking.

RDKirk wrote in post #10706913
Then just don't shoot when people are blinking.

Yeah, right! Doesn't work for groups. Take single shot, chimp, magnify, scroll around and check everyone's eyes, "hold on people, just a minute, sorry, sorry, have to take another one..." Sometimes you can't do a retake. A 1D will rip off 2-3 shots in no time, then you sort them later to pick your best keeper. A good powerful flash will rip off 2-3 flashes in a row at decent power as well. With a 1D you can set the continuous max burst length to 3 or 4 or whatever if you like so it won't take more shots than the flash has power, you can also tune the exact speed you want so it doesn't have to be just the presets, if you like 8 or 6 or 4 fps then you can use that.

High or low speed continuous are just labels, low speed on one body is top speed on a 5D...

So.... what did we learn from this thread? We learned everyone shoots differently and nearly every feature on a camera is useful to at least somebody.

High speed burst mode, yes I use it. I shoot more sports than anything else.

The people who tell you 'real photographers' don't need it are so full of it. Just ignore them.

Ask them to capture a Hockey puck just before it reaches the Goalie's glove. In some scenarios things happen so fast you can barely see it, let alone anticipate it. That's when those 'real photographers' will say "Oh yeah, now I understand".

The window for the moment you want to capture may be extremely narrow. And you may want slightly different shots all within that very narrow window. One shot mode won't cut it when you need three.

Features are tools, use the one you need to get the job done.

With no guarantee even then that you've missed all the blinkers. I can't think of any time I've shot a group--necessarily a posed shot that took some time to arrange--that didn't also allow for a good five seconds of shooting.

KennyG wrote in post #10703542
Burst mode is an SRD (Skill Reduction Device). What has happened to photography where people find it necessary to fire off bursts of captures in the hope that at least one picture will turn out right? Are they no longer capable of coordinating hand, eye, brain and shutter and using single shot? The term used for the burst mode technique is "spray and pray" with good reason.

Burst mode is a tool. I can open up a tool box and use a open ended wrench, a 12-point socket, a crescent wrench, or a vice grip (if I want to be primitive) to remove a bolt. One tool may work better then the other but they all work. Just because a ratchet makes it easier to remove a bolt then a wrench doesn't make the ratchet bad. It just means someone finds it easier to use that tool, thus making there work easier. I will continue to use burst in certain situations. I don't have quite the skills down yet, nor will I ever probably have them all perfect. I continue to improve though.

Greg

I have my 5DmkII in burst mode all the time. But since its burst is so "slow", I can easily get one shot off when I want to. I was at my local Japanese Garden last night and noticed that all my landscape-type photos were all single shots.

I use a burst when my subjects are moving (90% of my shots?). I even use a burst for a portrait of one person since those eye lids can move.

Skill Reduction Device? Guilty as charged! But since my skills are not that of Cartier-Bresson, I need all the help I can get to capture the decisive moment. Isn't technology wonderful?

I leave my 1Ds3 in burst mode all the time. It's easy to let go of the button before the second shot is taken. The 1Ds3-series shutter is so fast that it actually seems like a long time between shots in high burst mode.

On the 1D3? No way. It's too bloody fast and it's hard to NOT take less than 2 shots per press.